Instagram Stories – Instagram is one of the newer social media sites. With a billion users as of June 2018, it is also one of the most popular. What makes it so attractive for users and businesses is that the content is visually based.

As a product vendor, this gives you a much more effective way of highlighting how great your items really are. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. But, it’s not just about pictures. Instagram Stories is a newer service available on this platform and one that many businesses are using now.

Is it really a good marketing tool, though? According to social media experts, it can be if used properly. We recently came up with a useful infographic that gives you some concrete ideas on how to do just that. The stories give people a real chance to get a look at the real faces behind a brand.

They give you the chance to tell your brand’s story, but they can also be used to give clients unique insights into what it takes to get your product out. You can show them the kind of work involved, and the humans that put their blood, sweat, and tears into getting the products out there.

It’s a way of showing people what they are really paying for. You don’t have to give away trade secrets, but you can let them know where their money is going. But, that is only the start of what you can do with Instagram Stories.

You can get really creative, like Airbnb, who posts pictures in stories and then asks users to identify where they were taken. MAC used stories to teach clients how to apply makeup and take better selfies.

Want some more inspiration? You’ll get plenty of that from the infographic below. It is brimming with interesting facts about the platform and packed with how brands have used the feature in real life. Check it out to get some great ideas for your own Instagram Stories.

Many thanks to Josh Wardini from Webmastersjury for his contribution.

Like Snapchat Stories or Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories allows you to post photos and videos in chronological succession to tell a story over 24h. These images are only appearing on your story and not on the regular collection of Instagram posts. After a 24h period anything posted on the story will disappear.

Instagram Stories for business

Instagram is a useful tool for small business owners. It’s a free app and is an excellent source to showcase products and make your customers feel comfortable and buy from you as you show “behind the scenes” aspects of your business.

Here are seven ideas for using Instagram Stories to promote your business.

Take your followers behind the scenes

People are very interested to know your employers, who is who and your workplace or how you produce your products (if it’s e.g handmade jewelry company). Make your followers feel like insiders.

Demonstrate your products

If you are going to launch a new product, tease it with your story. Let your biggest followers spread the word on your behalf. Give away one or two things about your new feature.

Start a live story

If you are holding an event or seminar start a live and show what is happening behind the scenes. There’s nothing like giving people a little encourage to sign-up on your next time promoting event. Add the scene of occasion and engage non-attendees as well.

Flash sales and limited offers

Reward your followers by announcing “don’t miss out” offers via your Stories. Encourage your followers to pay attention to the content you publish. Just don’t overdo it!

Q&A and polls

Add Questions or Polls stickers and engage your followers. You can tap the question to create a new story post. The question will be inserted into the story, and you can answer however you like. You’ll know who asked the question, but their username or photo won’t appear in the post.